Somnāth

Śiva as Lord of the Moon · Prabhās Pāṭan, near Veraval, Gujarat

Somnāth is named first in the Jyotirliṅga Stotra and stands on the Arabian Sea shore at Prabhās Pāṭan in Saurāṣṭra. Prabhās is also remembered as the region where, by tradition, Śrī Kṛṣṇa left his earthly body.

The temple was destroyed and rebuilt many times over the centuries, and its history is a powerful symbol of endurance. The present temple was rebuilt after Independence and consecrated in 1951. Visitors attend the evening āratī and the sound-and-light show by the sea. Winter, from about October to March, is the most pleasant time to visit.

Tradition says the Moon, Soma, married twenty-seven daughters of Dakṣa — the nakṣatras — but loved only Rohiṇī. Dakṣa cursed him to waste away. Soma came to Prabhās and worshipped Śiva, who softened the curse: the Moon would wane and wax by turns. Śiva stayed here as Somanātha, “Lord of Soma”. Astrologers enjoy this story because it explains the Moon’s phases through the nakṣatras.

Gujarat · Śiva · Somanātha · Mahāśivarātri · Kārtika Pūrṇimā fair

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